One thing I found very interesting is how much politics hasn't changed. It was just as partisan then and bribery (in the form of patronage jobs) was just as alive and well.
One bit of miscasting... Peter McRobbie, the actor who played George Pendleton was about 30 years too old for the part. Pendleton, one of the chief opponents of the 13th Amendment in the movie, is mostly known now for sponsoring landmark Civil Service reform in the 1880s in response to the assassination of President Garfield. Legislation that greatly reduced corruption but also would have prevented the tactics employed in the movie.
Of course, those amendments also passed because 11 state delegations were absent from Congress. They never would have passed if the South hadn't seceded.
Also, though he's a really good actor, it's still weird to hear Thaddeus Stevens' words delivered in a Texan drawl. Kind of like hearing scottish brogue coming out of the mouth of an Egyptian named Ramirez.
Plenty of very accurate touches. Jackie Earle Haley looked incredibly like Alexander Stephens.
With Stevens, there's some degree of ambiguity. He never married, they lived together for year, and he left her a very generous settlement in his will. Supposedly, their neighbors treated them as common-law man and wife... but there were also family members that said they were just dear friends. And nothing that would directly confirm either way. Certainly very possible, though.
Well, I would discount the family - I can't imagine them wanting to admit to such a thing. So, I would tend to belive the neighbors. It would certainly explain why it was such an important issue for Stephens for that many years.
Thaddeus Stevens was, by any and all standards, a radical and outspoken egalitarian - long before he met Lydia Smith - and everyone in the world knew it. It really wouldn't have been a shock or embarrassment to the family if he were romantically attached to her.
Stevens was 73 years old by the time of "Lincoln" -- which doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of marital status. They certainly were very close. We just honestly don't have enough to know if they were doing anything in the bedroom. Stevens never left a diary or letters. But even if they weren't gettin spousal, they were certainly very very close.
By the side token, one of the ways the Radical Republicans had gotten under the skins of the slaveowners during the 1850s congressional debates was to insinuate that they held slaves because they wanted harems of pretty black girls. The language was couched somewhat indirectly, but what people actually said in congress in the 1850s would shock contemporary americans.
One bit of miscasting... Peter McRobbie, the actor who played George Pendleton was about 30 years too old for the part. Pendleton, one of the chief opponents of the 13th Amendment in the movie, is mostly known now for sponsoring landmark Civil Service reform in the 1880s in response to the assassination of President Garfield. Legislation that greatly reduced corruption but also would have prevented the tactics employed in the movie.
Of course, those amendments also passed because 11 state delegations were absent from Congress. They never would have passed if the South hadn't seceded.
Also, though he's a really good actor, it's still weird to hear Thaddeus Stevens' words delivered in a Texan drawl. Kind of like hearing scottish brogue coming out of the mouth of an Egyptian named Ramirez.
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And yes, agreed that the amendment never would have passed if those 11 states had been around.
Did Stephens actually have an affair as depicted?
Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
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With Stevens, there's some degree of ambiguity. He never married, they lived together for year, and he left her a very generous settlement in his will. Supposedly, their neighbors treated them as common-law man and wife... but there were also family members that said they were just dear friends. And nothing that would directly confirm either way. Certainly very possible, though.
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Stevens was 73 years old by the time of "Lincoln" -- which doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of marital status. They certainly were very close. We just honestly don't have enough to know if they were doing anything in the bedroom. Stevens never left a diary or letters. But even if they weren't gettin spousal, they were certainly very very close.
By the side token, one of the ways the Radical Republicans had gotten under the skins of the slaveowners during the 1850s congressional debates was to insinuate that they held slaves because they wanted harems of pretty black girls. The language was couched somewhat indirectly, but what people actually said in congress in the 1850s would shock contemporary americans.
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I was aware that in many ways, people were a lot more direct back then. Certainly the name calling that went on in the House was a lot nastier then.
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